Business Coaching and Training for Executives and Professionals

The other day I was reading Oprah’s newsletter about “Take Back Your Lunch”. The article asks “does your lunch break look more like a picnic or five minutes at your desk while checking email?”

This article started me thinking that mine was the five minutes at my desk answering email, setting appointments, writing articles, etc. What had happened to my lunch hour when I really did take a brake and spent the time eating a healthy lunch and doing something for me in self care? When did I buy back into that I needed to do more to reach my goals instead of working from my Inspired Action List?

That afternoon I was meeting a client for work lunch when I decided I was going to try something new today. We took the time for lunch first talking about things that really mattered to them. When we started our coaching we did not feel rushed or interrupted by the waiter which made the session go a lot smoother. As we were finishing our session the client remarked they enjoyed this new experiment of lunch before coaching.

When I returned home I was working on my reflection coaching notes when I discovered I had just modeled new behavior with my client. I got out my Inspired Action List and added a lunch hour to my goals to make sure I have a lunch hour everyday for myself and not work.

What are you willing to change to have a lunch hour again, just for you?

If you want to know what your experiences were like in the past, examine your body now. If you want to know what your body will look like in the future examine your experiences now. – Ancient Proverb

What is self-care any ways? There are lots of ideas plus writings about the subject. To me the ones that spoke the most were giving myself the gift of wellness. In order to do that, I need to exercise daily, eat healthy food (leave the sugar, white flours and fat out of my meals), and take time off to relax / distress, sleep, and be grateful for my body, mind and soul.

Sounds easy enough until I really started thinking about it was really a Life Style Change they were talking about. Change never comes easy it I try to act to fast or do too many things all at the same time. This means I need to chunk it down into small pieces, so the changes will stick and will not have to go back and start over again.

For my life today the easy ones are exercise everyday as I like the challenge, relaxing each day, sleep, being grateful for all that I have and get to do each day. The one I still work on is leaving the sugar alone as I love chocolate and ice cream. I know where I learned to reward myself with them was from my dear wonderful grandfather. When I have an attacked and crave sugar I have to look at my life, and then discover what I really need to change now! That is always eye opening.

What life style change do you need to make to have self-care?

Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical. – Sophia Loren